Synthetic turf continues to gain popularity as an athletic field surface for professional teams, college teams, high school teams, and even public parks. Current types of athletic turf simulate natural grass very well, while eliminating costs related to maintenance, such as watering, mowing, fertilizing, and even replacing, when bare spots occur.
As a result of this ever increasing popularity, there is an ongoing need for more efficient and consistent methods for installing synthetic turf. Typically, the rolls of synthetic turf are unrolled to place them in the desired position. If an underlying pad is used, it is also typically unrolled into position, prior to placement of the turf. This unrolling procedure is done manually, with the roll of turf mounted on a spindle that is held by a wheeled cart, so that the spindle is rotatable. The work crew pulls (and/or pushes) the cart along the desired path, at both ends of the cart, while also pulling the turf into the desired position.
As the cart is moving, the crew must continue to make sure that the roll of turf is unrolling properly, in alignment with the adjacently located roll of turf. Also, at least one or even two members of the crew walk on the unrolled turf, behind the cart, to hold down the unrolled turf and prevent it from being dragged along the surface as the cart advances. Sometimes this can cause unevenness or “waves” in the unrolled turf. If such waves or wrinkles occur, the crew must manually move the turf to remove them.
This method of installation is labor intensive, due to the needs to move and guide the cart while unrolling the turf, and the need to use manual labor to walk on the unrolled turf to hold it in place. Also, because the cart is typically pushed and directed at its opposite ends by the installing crew, on at least one side of the cart someone on the crew will be walking on the prepared base surface, onto which the turf is being installed. It is important that this prepared base surface remain level. But if a crew member walks on that prepared surface, and makes tracks in that surface, there may be a need to thereafter rake out those tracks, prior to placement of the next roll. Also, sometimes the wheels of these carts can cause damage to an adjacently located surface, such as a nearby athletic track which surrounds the athletic field.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the time and cost associated with installing a synthetic turf.
It is another object of the present invention to remedy the disruption of the prepared base that sometimes occurs during installation of the synthetic turf, so as to reduce the need to rework the prepared base.
It is still another object of the present invention to eliminate, or at least minimize, any waves or wrinkles that could occur in just-unrolled sections of synthetic turf.
It is still another object of the present invention to eliminate the potential for damaging an adjacently located surface, such as a track, when installing a synthetic turf.